The team convenes on the room at the Bodega Motel. One by one, they each share what memories they remember. From the looks of it, they were supposed to deliver a package from Denver to New Orleans. En route, they were attacked by another VTOL. The Archangel was struck by a missle strike that took out is engine. They were able to land at the airstrip and get it repaired. While it was being repaired, they would be staying at the Bodega.

Each one also had a personal memory that was just slightly off. For instance, Acorn had memories of her girlfriend. Her and Duchess were going on dates and such, but she didnt have her green eyes, nor the way she behaved. She called her girlfriend, in a slight panic, and was concerned if her eyes have changed from the deep emerald green that she remembered. The two discussed what was going on and even met in Astral space. Since Duchess was not able to come to her side, but was able to summon up a spirit to protect her. The beast spirit was to protect her from other spirits, but would only be good for one fight.

Walker remembered the same thing, but there was something off about his wolf pup. There was something off about the pup. It was bigger than he remembered and his coloring was different. Eternal remembered varioius things about doing stuff for the family. He was involved with various shipping stuff, but it all seemed a blur to him. The faces, the details, all of it was just a blur. Tatters seemed to remember the most of the VTOL attack and missle strike, but again, it was all just a blur.

Searching their commlinks and gear, they found the details of a Matrix meeting with a Johnson. According to the details, they were to travel to Shenandoah and meet with the Johnson. The fuel costs of the Archangel would be fronted to them and they rest of the agreed upon payment would be paid when they meet. They were to meet at the Bodega Motel, Room 302. Of course, this does not jive with what they remember. They came to the conclusion that their memories were altered …. they were possibly dealing with another mind mage.

During the discussions, they were approached by the manager of the motel. Walker bribes him with a credstick with 2,000 nuyen on it. Surprised by the payday, since it was 5 times what he makes in a month, the manager happily shares the information that he has and allows them to stay in the room another night. They only needed to make sure they cleaned up the room. Walker did some Astral scouting over the town, since the manager said there were no magician shop or any mages in town. However, he was able to catch a glipse of something … something powerful, but then the aura disappeared. Further investigation of the room revealed a slight astral signature. There was spellcasting in this room. Tatters also placed a call to his Ares contact, LaRue. She will be getting back to him after reaching out to her counterparts in the region. Walker also put in call to Calypso about the Johnson. She, of course, will also be getting back to the team. The team headed back to the Archangel, after receiving a message that the repairs were complete. They figured that would be the best place to start. Of course, they did not clean the room.

Once back at the airstrip, the two mechanics went over the repairs that were made. Apparently the missle strike did quite a number on the engine. However, when reviewing the plane with the pair of mechanics, both Eternal and Tatters notice that there was no damage to the plane. No bullet holes, no scorch marks, not even a bent panel. If they were in the dogfight with the other VTOL and get hit with a missle, surely there would have been more damage than the destroyed engine. Walker, Acorn and an invisible Eternal walk into the office. They wanted to see the old engine. The pair of mechanics were happy to take them out back to the scrapyard. The fenced yard was full of old cars, plane parts, scattered wings, etc. The pair pointed to the destroyed engine on the pallet nearby. The pair were explaining that they were going to salvage what they could of the ruined engine.

However, the team seen nothing wrong with the engine. It looked fine to them. They confronted the mechanics with an image of the engine and it seemed to stir something. The image was showing a working engine, but in front of them was an engine that was destroyed. The shock of the difference overwhelmed them. Their eyes started to twitch, their bodies started to convulse, they went into full blown seizures. Walker watched from Astral and it appeared they both were healthy, but in distress. He then noticed an Astral signature leak out of the spell that was holding the mechanics. It was the same signature that was in the motel room. When the mechanics came to, they were extremely confused. Eternal negotiated a sale price for the old engine and they left the scrapyard.

Walker also seemed to remember a memory. His eye started to twitch as he went into a seizure, much like the mechanics. He started to remember what had happened in the motel room. The team was there talking and the room all of a sudden went silent. There was a bang at the door, followed by bursts of gunfire. The surprised team went on the defensive. Walker and Acorn tried casting spells, but they seemed to be countered. There was a mage there … a powerful one. Then the dart guns were brought to bear and the laes filled darts took out the team. The last thing that the Wolf mage remembered was the mage had scales … the mage was a drake. The team now realizes that the entire run was a ruse. They were set up from the beginning.

The team, now with an idea of what they are up against, heavy discussed their options. Walker wanted to flee back to San Francisco and hole up there. Atleast there, they can face the threat on their terms and their home ground. Tatters, however, wanted to hang nearby and research this new threat. The heated discussion finally brought us to where we are now. They compromised on a luxury hotel in Omaha where they would stage their actions. The hotel would provide them with the security to help protect them from this threat and gives them a secure place to park the Archangel, while they devise a plan.

The team wakes up … in a dirt room lined with treeroots. Eternal and Walker are the first to stir and catch a glimpse of Tatter’s head being dragged down a tunnel. A quick inventory of themselves and they find that all of thier gear and equipment was gone. They had no weapons, no armor, no gear of any kind unless it was attached. However, Eternal finds the obsidian dagger and cuts themselves free. The cut Acorn loose and gather their bearings. As an afterthought, they remember Tatters was being drug down the tunnel. They quickly move out and catch a giant dung beetle dragging the body of Tatters. They pounce on it and easily dispatch it. Walker was able to determine that the beetle was infact an insect spirit. Tatters was unconcious but wasnt dead. They wake him up and explain the situation.

There was only one way to go to get out of this and so the team followed the tunnel. It came upon a small cavern with another pair of dung beetles and a stag beetle. Before a plan could be developed, Eternal dropped down on one of the dung beetles and started attacking. As Acorn and Walker assist with spells, Tatters found a hidden bottle of black label whiskey. He knocks it back as they defeat the spirits. However, it was at a cost. The fight with the spirits took a toll on Eternal. Both Acorn and Walker was able to use magic to heal the wounds and they went on their way.

There was two choices at the end of this cavern. One passage leading to the right and the other to the left. Eternal was in the lead and he headed to the right. This tunnel started to take them further down into the ground. Tatters rebelled a little proclaiming that they need to leave. He knew of some Ares people that LOVE to kill these things. However, Eternal was steadfast in his pace. They came upon a large cavern with multiple beetle spirits, the insect shaman and a bright light eminating from the center of them.

Tatters started to turn to leave, but noticed the sound of scrapping coming down the tunnel towards them. It was then that the beetles all noticed the intruders. Eternal caught the sound of Eileen calling out to him. Before he could act though, Walker unleashed a lightning bolt directly at the insect shaman. The shaman was caught in the middle of a ritual. The lightning bolt ripped through him, tearing him to pieces and disrupting the ritual. The shaman was instantly killed. The remaining spirits disappaited, leaving only darkness.

Scattered along the walls were bodies, mostly dead, except for a trio that were found near the shaman. Eternal and the others gathered their gear, then Walker attended to the injured victims. Eternal could hear the ancient rythmnic chanting as the dagger called out to him. It has had a taste of blood and wanted more. He took the dagger’s lead and moved in to assist one of the victims. When Walker wasn’t paying attention, he slipped the obsidian dagger into the heart of one of the victims. It drained the blood and life from the poor soul. The chanting in the head of Eternal thrummed of satisfaction.

The team escorts the remaining two victims out of the tunnels and onto a grassy field. Now with matrix connection, they learn that the date is … September 3rd? Its been two months … but where has the time gone? Furthermore, they found themselves in a small town just outside of Omaha, UCAS! Tatters convinces the survivors to come with them and they can escort them to safety. He located the matrix signal of the Archangel at a nearby airstrip and make their way there. Once there, they see the plan with a missing engine. The mechanics that were working on it let them know that it will be later that day. The missile damage took out an engine and it had to be replaced. Unsure of what was going on, they find that they were staying at a local motel called the Bodega Inn Motel.

The make the couple mile walk to the motel, with Tatters and one of the victims, stopping off at a bar first. They started to realize that this victim was part of thier team? He went by the name of RedShirt. After making things square, they all met at the motel room. There they found the room in complete disarray. Something big happened here. There was scorch marks, bullet holes and blood scattered about. Then they caught sight of some darts on the ground. A check with the med kit revealed the darts have residue of Laes, the elven memory erasing drug. Now faced with the fact that they may have had their memories altered, they review their commlinks and any other device that they had to find out what has happened for the last two months?

The team gets a message that LaRue has another job for them. They were to meet at the same warehouse that they met before. LaRue was alone this time. She had a simple extraction of a pair of individuals. Walker negotiated a deal, but LaRue had a bonus in mind. They agreed on 10k nuyen and LaRue presented them with a gift. Behind a curtain in the warehouse was a the training model of an Ares Archangel VTOL. This is included in the deal.

The extraction targets were Jannet and Hiroshi Suyin. The are Directors of Magical Research and Aquisition for Wuxing out of Alaska. The pair were expected to be at thier cabin retreat on Lake Minchumina in Alaska, Athabaskan Council. They are expected to be there for the next 4 days. The pair is to be extracted from the lake house. To cover the extraction, there needs to be an accident at the cabin that will make the pair appear to be killed. Security should be light, but expect opposition. The team immediately recognizes that they were extracting Acorn’s parents and they were headed into Wuxing territory with someone that had a Wuxing bounty on her head.

Tatters spends the day getting used to flying the Archangel while the team started to plan the run. The weather looked good and there didnt seem to be a need for any special equipment. They decided to head out to Alaska the next morning. Tatters had already planned and filed the flight plan, so they were all set to go. The flight there was uneventful.

After circling around the lake, there was no clear place to land except for on the lake. However, landing on the lake near the cabin would alert the security. They decided to land on nearby Jim Lake, which was about 3 miles away from the cabin. Tatters was to stay with the plane while the other three hiked in. After they cleared the cabin for the extraction, Tatters would fly over and pick them up. Walker was able to guide them on the hike in and after a few hours, they made it to the cabin.

They approached the rear of the cabin on a slight overlook. As they moved into position, Ace tripped on a tree root and fell down the embankment. Unfortunately he landed right in front of a sasquatch guard. Before Ace could even react, the guard cut his head clean off his body with his combat axe. He then alerted the rest of the guards of the threat. The team sprung into action.

Eternal and the others quickly dispatch the sasquatch, but at a cost. The firefight left some wounds on the team and the rest of the security force was headed in. Before they knew it, they were set upon. The security team used cunning tactics and advantage as they laid down cover fire and picked shots as the team exposed themselves. Eternal was able to use his flash bangs and Walkers spells to finally wear down the security force. Once they were all down, he finished the job.

The team then moved into the house from different points. Walker covered Eternal in magical invisibility and they went in. Eternal found their targets were protected by a lone gaurd and esily dispatched him. The distraught couple looked on in horror as thier bodyguard was slain in front of them. Acorn appeared and they moved into a position to protect their daughter from the unknown horror. She calmed them down while Walker explained the situation. They pair finally came to the understanding that they were being extracted. Acorn convinced them to get in the plane that was waiting for them. Eternal gathered up some of the guard’s gear and set the exposives. Part of the job was to make it look like they were killed in an accident. They were rigged to make it look like there was a gas leak and explosion. The team and their targets left with the explosives going off a short time later.

Tatters set up the drop off point with LaRue and they made the 6 hour flight back to the Bay Area. On the way, Acorn and her parents got caught back up in tearful conversation. Eternal and Hiroshi, Acorn’s dad, also had some stuff to talk about regarding the sinking of the Estella Maersk. The discussion led to files on his terminal with the manifest that he was looking for. The ship was carrying cargo for a DIMR research facility in New Orleans. The cargo was an aquatic creature that had been created with DNA altering and gene splicing. The mention of the facility starting to bring back memories of Eternal’s past.

When they arrived at the drop point, LaRue advised Acorn that she will never see her parents again. She gave them a little more time to say their goodbyes and they were whisked away to an unknown Ares research facility. The team was paid for the job and furthermore, they completed the job they were given by Eternal’s connection with the Family. So with the loss of one of their teammates and now a new lead on Eternal’s past, what will the team do now?

The team gets their final shopping list together and make their final arrangements. It was time to go and get this run completed. They gather the gear and pile into the new NightRunner boat and head out of the safehouse and into San Francisco bay. Eternal, Acorn, Tatters and Walker don the new drysuits on the way and store away their gear in the airtight bags. Ace is charged with manning the boat and to pick them up if they come back through the water. Once they get to the buoy that was placed, they hop in the water and the boat leaves. The team swims down to the tunnel entrance and use the thermite bar and miniwelder to remove the grate. The 4ft wide pipe was too small to walk around in, but they are able to swim up the pipe until the water ends. They crawl through the sludge, sewage and greywater to the end of the tunnel. Tatters easily pops the door to the maintenance room and the team enters into the dark room. They change out of the dry suits and into their regular gear.

Using the flyspy drones, Tatters keeps a watchful eye as they move from the maintenance room and into the front lobby. There were a pair of guards posted there. As the team prepares to leave the building, with invisibility spells from Walker, Eternal sneaks off. He hits the guards with his taser. The rest of the team hears the commotion and realizes that he has gone rogue again. They assist with a volley of spells and bullets from Tatter’s silenced pistol, quickly incapacitating them. They pull the guards back into the maintenance room and bind them up. Once Tatters was done, an invisible Eternal finishes the pair off by snapping the guard’s necks.

Before leaving, Tatters hacks into the Security Services terminal and inserts thier fake SINs into the employee records and gives them Director level access. Noticing that the file he had contained the names, positions and access levels of all NeoNet CFS operations employees, Tatters makes a copy of the file for possible bonus pay. With the new level of access they have assigned to the cardkey they have, the team easily leaves the building and down the steps to the street. The see a little Mercury Comet parked and decided to have Eternal go dark in the trunk and they would drive over to the R&D facility.

The drive there was uneventful as the security checkpoint was easily passed. They arrive at Cavalier Arms R&D facility and find an employee entrance that they use. Once in, Tatters hacks into the terminal while the others keep watch. As he was in VR, a security patrol walks by, but see the level of clearance they have and keep walking. Tatters was able to find that the project they are looking for is on the 5th floor. They move out of the cubicle farm and into the front lobby. The guards stationed at the front desk just waived them by, again noting the level of clearance they were broadcasting.

They rode the elevator up to the 5th floor and found another security patrol, complete with a barghest, that was completing their pass by. The floor was laid out in a circular formation with a central room where the research notes and prototype were kept. They move around to the only door entering in and Tatters goes to work on hacking in. He pauses as he notices that the panel to bypass the lock was loose. Someone has already bypassed this and could be in the room. He lets the team know as he pops the door open. Once the door opens, however, the runner team was waiting for them. The decker was already jacked in and attacked the cyberdeck that Tatters had. Eternal rushed the troll that was standing guard over the limp body of his decker, but he was waiting for him. After the troll dodged the sword swing, he brought up his assault rifle and let loose a silent burst fire, hitting Eternal with a solid hit. The hidden mage throws up a barrier to block the rest of the team from entering, but Walker and Eternal were able to hit the troll with magic. Tatters, remembering the gear that Eternal had on him, set off a pair of the narco-gas grenades that were active. The explosions were enough to take out the decker, troll and mage. It was also enough to take Eternal down and very close to death. After a few moments, the HVAC system cleaned the air and the team moved in.

Tatters grabs the cyberdeck the decker had and jacked in to get the research data. Meanwhile, Walker checks the other runners and turns off their gear. He also finds a couple of credsticks and grabs those as well. Tatters was quickly able to locate and copy the research notes, delete the associated files and pop open the drawers. There was a set of prototype boots that had skates that would increase the wearers speed when using them and a pair of the prototype machine pistols. He also further dug and found another project file that had the same level of secrecy as the project they were after. This one had notes detailing a mole that was inserted into Ares Contact Services Division and their mission was to compile a list of deniable assets that they use. He also made a copy of this file as well.

Walker went to pick up one of the prototypes and it started to initialize. Not sure what that meant, he put it back down and picked it up with a bag instead. He then put a slap patch on Eternal. Knowing that the adept may not be lucid, he stands a bit back when he sticks in on him. Just has he thought, Eternal came up swinging and nearly took his head. The monoblade stop on the edge of his cheek as Eternal realized where he was. He then went on to kill the other runners before grabbing the other prototype. It went on to initialize and acquired the DNA profile of its new owner. The weapon spoke with Eternal and gave a run down of its capabilities. Eternal smiled.

The team decided it was time to leave and left the building. They loaded into the Comet and drove out of the compound with no further issues. They met up with Ace at the safehouse and notified LaRue that the job was complete. The set up a meet at the same warehouse to exchange in a half hour. When they got there, Tatters was surprised to see a young woman with raven hair that he had an encounter with earlier this month while Havoc was in Big Sur. On the defensive the whole time, they decide to wrap it up quickly and exchanged the research notes, one of the prototype and the nuyen. They also received a bonus as well. LaRue reminded Tatters that she would need him soon for another job, as they left the warehouse. The job was completed and it was easier than they thought.

The team did some initial scouting of the NeoNet compound and is a little overwhelmed at the size of it. The physical security on site is pretty tough and they already know that the Astral security has spirits and a projecting mage on site. Previously, they found an old document that had a sewer tunnel leading from building 2a to the bay. Tatters also needs to get into the host and see if there are any other tunnels or blueprints that he is able to find. The team heads back to the safehouse to join up with Acorn and discuss the plans further.

Eternal decided to scout out the sewer tunnel in the bay that was found. He convinced his contact WaveRunner to take him out and drop him off. He swam up to the entrance and found that the entrance to the sewer tunnel was gated off. Testing the grate, he found that it was going to be very tough to get in and that thermite might do the trick. Eternal then set up a monowire buoy line to mark where the sewer grate was for the operation later.

Tatters decided it was time for him to take a run at the host to get some information. Together with Ace, they find a spot near the compound and hack in. He spent some time in the NeoNet host and found some details about underground tunnels that connect the residential buildings with the security and headquarters that make an underground bunker to be used in case of an emergency or natural disaster. After getting that info, he dropped out of that host and jumped into the Cavalier Arms host to find info about the prototype. After some searching, he found a reference to the project file. However, there was a NeoNet spider that was watching him and engaged the intruder. Tatters took a hit, but jumped out of the host and reset his deck before the spider could get a trace on him. Unfortunately, he was also unable to get the data he was looking for.

With the rest of the plan, the team goes and boosts a old car they found in an Oakland parking garage that was most likely abandoned for some time. WaveRunner also pointed out a spiff new Nightrunner boat that the team was looking for. The boosted that and stored them at the safehouse after they were secured. So now the plan is starting to come into fruition and all thats left now is more possible legwork to see what is inside the tunnel and possibly another run at the Cavalier Arms host.

A couple of days have passed since the Big Sur run and Tatter’s facilitating the release of Walker and Ace from jail. Now the team finds out that Acorn has a bounty on her that was put in place by Wuxing. The team meets up at an abandoned warehouse to discuss the bounty and how to proceed with it. The enter into the place and start discussing with Acorn about why Wuxing would want her. It was revealed that her parents were Directors of Magical Research and Acquisitions within the megacorp. It was also revealed that Acorn and Duchess were close as the Raccoon Shaman stood protectively in front of her when it was needed.

Then the flashbangs and smoke grenades came bursting through the windows. Right behind those were heavily armed individuals wearing full body security armor and carrying assault rifles. The assault force swarms the team. Before they could even act, the assault team drops Ace and Tatters. From the rear of the force, comes up the commander who is also wielding a sword. Eternal immediately engages his in a sword fight, but this time is different. The commander feints a strike and the adept falls for it with a parry. The commander ripostes and brings his blade down on the adepts monosword, shattering it. Caught off guard by the destruction of his sword, Eternal looks up as the commander drives his sword deep in his chest, then pulls it out and severs his head. Walker sees the head of Eternal as it rolls to a stop right before him, his eyes looking into his.

Duchess moves between the commander as he walks towards walker and begins to cast a spell. However, one of the other guards aims and fires on the Raccoon mage. The bullets bury deep within her, killing her. The commander smiles and talks to Walker about defending his “pack” this way and forces him to make a decision. But before that, he adds another piece to this puzzle. Two more officers walk into the warehouse with his sister bound up and assault rifle to her head. The guard that killed Duchess also has his weapon pointed at the head of Acorn. Acorn is in tears at the sight of her dead girlfriend laying there in front of her.

The commander prods him for a decision as he points his assault rifle at him. The Wolf shaman smiles and attempts to take them all out with a powerful fireball. The fire erupts around him and he finds himself alone on the Astral plane with Wolf pacing before him. Wolf was disappointed, but still pleased, with the shaman’s actions and welcomed him into the ranks of the initiated.

During the initiation, the rest of the team was actually removed from the encountered and watched the events unfold. Afterwards, the team is reunited with the explanation of Wolf and that he has blessed this warehouse. He erects a powerful manabarrier around the warehouse. They then find themselves back in the warehouse and discussing the bounty on Acorn. Still in shock of what has happened during the initiation, Acorn wrapped up Duchess in a hug and they both kiss. Now the team knows about the love affair between the two. Acorn looks among the others, still shaken and now a little embarrassed and continues to tell her story.

Deciding that there isn’t much that could be done at this moment, the team decides that Acorn will lay low for awhile until a plan presents itself. The starts discussing what to do with their new safe house when Tatters gets a call from LaRue, his Ares contact. She had a job for the team and set up a meet in a half hour. Duchess informs the team that she needed to go back to Baltimore and make plans to meet up with Acorn later for her last night in San Francisco. She meets up with her cab and heads to her hotel room.

They meet up with the human woman, in her late 20’s and wearing a skin tight suit and an Ares Predator on her hip, and they start discussing the job. A rival megacorp has developed a new prototype machine pistol and, naturally, Ares Macrotechnology is interested in this project. So far all they have been able to find out very little details. They have the project file and where the research is being done. The job is to acquire the prototype, all the research notes and then destroy the database. Walker tries to negotiate the terms, but seemed distracted by the events of the day. They agree to her terms and then learns that she wants it done in about 8 days. The team doesn’t have time to waste, so they get to doing their legwork right away.

The prototype is being developed by Cavalier Arms Limited, a subsidiary of NeoNet, at NeoNet’s California Operations Center in Richmond. The team heads that way in the Roadmaster and starts to survey the area. Tatters determines that the host would be extremely difficult for him to access. The compound is surrounded by a 30 ft high wall and covered with sensor suites and drones. All around the surrounding area were more sensors. He sends off his agent to do some research on public utilities and it comes back with stacks of paperwork, but one in particular sticks out. There was a mishandled filing for a sewer to be placed leading from building 2a to the bay. Further research shows that the tunnel has already been build and the entrance in the bay is just below water level. The team decides that this will be their point of entry and further develops their plan.

In today’s episode of “Lets Play Cops”, the task force is fresh off a scene on MCT property and headed for a laundromat in Oakland, which was determined to be the scene of the murder. But what will be waiting for the team when they get there?

With a couple of uniformed squad cars parked outside of the laundromat, the task force arrives to start investigating. Both Astral and Matrix are devoid any indication or presence within the building. Drones were sent in and also no reports of anyone around. The team heads in and starts to scour through the abandoned building. Although it once was a laundromat, it is now an illegal gambling den. It appears that someone has ransacked the place and there were scorch marks everywhere. Hardline was able to find a cyberdeck that was buried in the rubble and found some quite useful information. There was a commlink video stored on it that showed the last moments of what had happened here. A woman walked in and started shooting gouts of flame from her fingertips.

Now that they have found the identity of the attacker within the warehouse, they sent out an APB for this person. They found, through facial recognition, that she was 40 year old Melonie Stanton that lived in Los Angeles, PCC. Notification was also sent to PCC as well and the team ends it for the night.

A full day passes without any word and the morning of the next day, they get the call on another body that was found. When they reported to the scene, they also got word on the blue Mercury Comet that was registered to Melonie Stanton. Uniforms currently have her pulled over and awaiting HTR to join. The team was picked up by an SFPD VTOL and flown to the location. As they approached the vehicle, the woman stepped out of the car and taken into custody without incident.

In the interrogation of the suspect, it was found that she had a brother that was killed by shadowrunners. She started interrogating and killing fixers to find out who ordered the hit on her brother and why. She was not able to find any further information. When pressing further, Combs sensed that the Astral presence attempted to cast a spell, which faile. It then separated into two separate entities and tore itself from the suspect, knocking her unconsciuos and barely clinging to life. The almost demonic form seemed to reach out and strike fear into Combs. He screamed in terror and fled the room. Hardline called for threat response with magical support, along with medics.

When the response team arrived, there was only the Astral signature of the entity left in Astral space. The suspect was tended to and will face charges for the serial killings.

So the Crossword Killer was caught! However, was her actions her own or this mysterious Astral entity that seemed to possess her? What havoc could this spirit wreak on the streets of San Francisco, now that its loose? We return now to the regularly scheduled programming, but may return with an all new season of “Lets Play … Something” soon!

In today’s episode of “Lets Play Cops”, the task force starts the day off with another body that was found. However, one thing is not like the other in this game and there seems to be another player involved.

Answering the call from Capt Rivers, the team assembles at the site of the most recent victim of the serial killer. However, from the start, something is off about this one. This victim was carved up with the words just as the others were, but the arrangement was off. A new word “PINCH” was also carved into the body and it was missing the weird hand-carved tattoo that the others had as well.

The team goes to investigate the scene and identified the victim as Baylee Rowe, a 28 year old chemist from Los Angeles, PCC. Detective Combs was able to determine that there was an argument that led to the strangulation of this victim. Forensic analysis shows that the killer was much taller than the other victims and the words were carved post mortem. The words on the other victims were carved prior to their deaths.

The team spotted a sketchy individual that was pacing around the perimeter of the scene. Combs sent a couple of uniforms to question the troll, but the shadowrunner had other plans. Hardline was watching his Matrix presence as his weapon systems and wired reflexes came online. He pulled out an Ares Alpha and opened fire on the two uniformed officers, along with innocent bystanders that were in front of him. He then turned the machine gun onto the detectives, Shepard and Kravec, as they were following the uniforms. Shepard is able to dodge out of the way, but Kravec took a full burst and went down.

Panic ensued … The bystanders that were around the scene fled for their lives and the other officers dove behind vehicles and other obstacles. Hardline and Combs fell in line and took cover behind one of the cars. The shadowrunner and the cops exchanged shots, but it was Smith, jumped into her Bumblebee drone that unleashed a full burst on him. It seemed as thought the runner almost opened himself up to the hail of bullets as nearly every round slammed into him. The stick n shock ammo left the assailant unconscious and twitching as the others secured the scene.

After interrogating the shadowrunner, it was found that his name was Caleb Rowe and he was listed as the spouse of the latest victim. However, the team did not believe that he was the Crossword Killer and only a copycat. It seems that he was having an affair with the reporter on the last few scenes and learned of the killer. He wanted to kill his wife and blame it on the serial killer.

The next day, there was another victim found. This time is was found on MCT property. When the team, an some uniform squads, went to the scene, they were met with MCT corporate security response and denied access to the scene. After a warrant was issued to gain access to the scene, MCT allowed the SFPD to investigate the crime, but with MCT investigators as well and limited access to anything else.

The investigation revealed that the victim was actually killed in a laundromat in Oakland that was named Smith and Eastern. Cursory checks show that the location is owned by Richard Smith, Ricky Smith and Smith Rick, which was this latest victim. The team plans on going to investigate the laundromat, now that they are done with this scene. However, Hardline is able to convince one of the MCT investigators to get access to the MCT grid. He hops into VR to try and get some camera footage, which MCT previously denied access to. Unfortunately, the white hat hacker was met with tough host security and he had to abandon the search before he could gain anything … and before the dreaded IC was launched.

So with an increasing bodycount, and now copycats, will the team be able to find the killer before there are more victims? What is the connection with the words that are carved on the bodies? How is the laundromat connected? Stay tuned for the next episode of “Lets Play Cops!” to find out.

In today’s episode of “Lets Play Cops”, we follow the San Francisco Police Department’s Task Force that is assigned to the brutal serial killer that is terrorizing the citizens of the Bay Area. Dubbed “The Crossword Killer”, the task force sets out under the leadership of Capt Frank Rivers. There are already 4 victims of that have been found bruised, beaten and strapped naked to area telephone poles. Each one with a strange, hand-carved symbol and words carved into their backs. The words were carved in the fashion of a crossword puzzle, one building on the other.

The task force was assembled in the conference room that is serving as the war room. An AR display shows the 4 victims and details on their cases. The team reviewed the various details and started to formulate theories on patterns. A quick search of the strange symbol revealed that it is an ancient Japanese symbol of POWER, but was not related to any gangs or organized crime syndicates. There also did not seem to be any theme or pattern determined with the words that were carved into each victim. The the 4th victim, which happened earlier that morning, Detective Combs, Johnson and Smith go to the crime scene while Kravec and Shepard head to the spouse of the first victim. The first victim was the only one that had a spouse.

During the investigation at the crime scene, Detective Johnson received permission to access the nearby traffic cameras and found when the body was dropped. All but one of the cameras only show the body rising out of nowhere and floating up to be strapped to the pole. The one camera was able to pierce the spell and shows the blurry image of a blue sedan. Detective Combs used his ability to see the history of items to see that the body was already dead when it was bound up. Then being put into a truck and floating to the pole. Peeking into the Astral realm, he was able to determine the Astral signature of the spellcaster. So based on this information, it was determined that the killer is Awakened and had multiple spells active.

The team met back up at the war room and more investigation into the previous victims were done. They noted on the board the time of death and the time they were strung up, based on camera feeds in each of the areas, and found that Victim 3 was killed and kept for a week before being strung up. This was far different than the other victims. Furthermore, they did some investigation of the victims vehicles and their last known locations. All were able to be determined with the exception of the first and last victims vehicles. They then decided to get a search warrant and investigate the residence of the last victim.

When they got to the one story ranch style house, they started to look around when Detective Johnson received an alert on his cyberdeck that he was under attack through the Matrix. He hopped in VR and easily handled the threat. Agent Smith’s bumblebee drone surveyed the outside of the house and using a variety of sensors, was able to find what looked like a cat on the counter. They team entered, per the terms of the search warrant, and found a dead cat on the counter. The drones went on high overwatch, but was not able to find anything suspicious. Further search of the house determined that the victim was last active there in the last 16ish hours and his GMC Phoenix was found in the garage. Detective Smith and the forensics team went into gather mode and the rest of the team called it a night. However, early the next morning they received a call that there was another victim found.

So after the first day of investigations, the detectives were able to make some headway in determining who the killer is. Now with another body and increasing terror in the city, will they find the killer in time to stop anymore murders? Stay tuned for the next episode of “Lets Play Cops!” to find out.

After a second night’s rest in the woods, the team wakes up with confidence of the general area that the TerraFirst! group is likely making camp based on the pattern of attacks and the tracks Walker has been able to find at each site. As they debate their approach, Duchess decides to try something and throws a mana barrier around her before going into the astral.

Able to cover distance at the speed of thought, and well familiar with the corrupted mana at each of the attack sites, she’s quickly able to spot a few spots of corrupted mana, one that seems to line up with the Johnson’s research station and one closer to the team’s current location. The closer one is also the strongest background count seen yet, as she moves into investigate further, she spots a powerful toxic spirit coming towards and immediately races to her body in the mana barrier.

At the TerraFirst! camp, Melvin Cohen, a former PhD candidate at Berkeley, is alerted by his toxic abomination spirit of the intrusion. And he begins rousing the camp, yelling, “Interlopers come! They wish to stop our great transformation but nothing can stop our work! We will create a Terra that can be free of the poisonous megacorporations and treacherous governments.”

He orders all eight of his cell to lay an ambush on the direct approach from where the spirit saw Duchess retreat and then heads back into his tent to continue planning subsequent attacks while two spirits look over him and the camp.

Duchess readies two spirits, and Ace gets a serious headache failing to summon a spirit, and the team heads in the direction of the suspected camp. As they get close, the woods get very quiet and a couple of the runners hear some faint rustling ahead. Duchess orders one of the raccoon spirits to conceal the party, and without realizing it the team slips right by the ambush.

The team comes up on the campsite and as Eternal takes up a sniper position, Duchess’ manifested raccoon spirit suddenly begins screaming and thrashing next to her, as it is ambushed in the astral by one of the two abomination spirits in the form of a grotesque mockery of a wolf. The other manifests ahead of the team.

The raccoon spirits engage the astral abomination, and the team unleashes a volley of manabolts and the ineffectual swings of a sledgehammer on the manifested toxic spirit. The toxic shaman comes screaming out of his tent as the commotion, calling for his cell to come back while taking up a place in cover.

As Eternal plugs away with his rifle trying to take out the mage, the team continues to fight the spirits, with Duchess’ first raccoon spirit ultimately falling under the savaging. Duchess also feels the other raccoon spirit, still Astral, be ripped away from her as a horrible corrupting feeling comes across her mental link with the spirit. Soon after the other wolf abomination manifests, accompanied by a mutated and distended raccoon spirit, now corrupted by the toxic shaman.

Eternal is able to land a kill shot on the toxic shaman after flushing him out with a flashbang and then turn and blow a huge chunk out of the first wolf abomination mauling Sledge. Despite Walker’s rush to help, Duchess falls from the spirits attacking her but the team is able to ultimately put down the remaining spirits.

The team quickly moves into secure the camp, doing a quick search, before hearing signs that the rest of the cell is returning. The team quickly sets up an ambush position, and with a combination of a high ex courtesy of Eternal and a physical barrier to ricochet the blast around, a third of the returning group is wiped out instantly. Half of the remaining break and run, the other dropping prone, and those that remain are quickly taken out by the runners.

Between notes found at the site and a call with the Johnson, the team ultimately is able to put together that the researcher was doing work for Wuxing to test how various pollutants affect the mana of a natural area. Melvin was in the area planning some environmental protests against the logging operations but the increased toxicity in the astral opened the door for a toxic spirit to reach out to the frustrated environmentalist and corrupt him to a toxic path, which he was ultimately able to convince his group to fall in line with as they saw “results”.

Pay secured, along with the bonus of a jeep thanks to the team grilling the Johnson on what really went down, the team made their way back to the city. However shortly after crossing over the city line, the first vehicle with Duchess, Ace, Walker, and Acorn is pulled over. Eternal and Sledge drive on without incident.

The SFPD takes Walker and Ace in, although not under arrest, to speak with a Lt. Trish Rueben and allows Acorn and Duchess to go on their way.